


tyres don't stick onto black ice

by brokenglass



Series: Designed To Be [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Animal Death, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-27
Updated: 2012-11-27
Packaged: 2017-11-19 17:06:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/575602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brokenglass/pseuds/brokenglass
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zayn has always said he didn't want another dog. He has a cat, for gods sake. But this is his best friend Louis and he can't say no. And he just so happens have a little crush on the trainer, Liam.</p>
            </blockquote>





	tyres don't stick onto black ice

"No" Zayn says instantly, before Louis' even finished his sentence, its a definite no. 

"Oh please Zee, I know how good you are with dogs, and it'll be nice company for Cleo!" Louis explains excitedly through the other end of the phone, convinced that if he tries hard enough, Zayn will say yes. 

"No, Louis. You know how I feel about another dog" Zayn whispers as the memories of the cold December night, walking with his coat wrapped tightly around his body, a torch in his hand, tears flowing down his cheeks. A lump forms in his throat just thinking about it, it was long ago, but still fresh in his mind. 

"Zayn, I know its hard, but maybe getting a new one will help heal the whole that's there... You already said that having Cleo around helps" Louis says softly, and Zayn knows he's right really, he just doesn't want to admit it. Louis' always right, actually. He was right about Cleo, the small, black and white cat he made Zayn take home because no one else wanted her. 

"And he'll only get euthenised if no one takes him... Please Zayn, you're my last chance" Louis pleads, and the word euthenised is enough for Zayn, he can't let an innocent dog get put down just because no one wants it. 

"Ok, Louis. I'll take him. But if he's any trouble I'm sending him right back. I have to think about Cleo" Zayn sighs and rubs a hand across his tired face, he doesn't even want to think what he's getting himself into, a dog and a cat living under the same roof. 

"Yay! Thank you so much Zayn! I owe you big time!" Louis squeals, and yeah maybe Zayn does feel a little happy that he's helping Louis out, because he's worked really hard to get where he is now. Long hours of science revision and legal checks just for Louis to step foot into the animal sanctuary. It's nice anyway, because sometimes Zayn helps out after hours and he gets to meet whatever animals occupy the cages, its a good perk of being Louis' best friend, anyway. 

"When do you want me to pick him up?" 

"Will Thursday be ok? I have to sort out some paperwork and all the other legal complications and then he should be ready to come home. He's not very old, can't understand why nobody wants him, he's so darn cute. If I didn't have four dogs at home I'd have him myself" 

"Alright, I'll drop by after Uni then. You really do owe me, Lou" 

"I know" 

 

//

 

Louis waffles on about the feeding and the walking and all the stuff Zayn already knows about looking after a dog as they walk through the kennels, dogs barking at them as they walk past. But all Zayn can think about is the way it turned out last time. The cold, harsh snow whipping at his face as he walked along slippery roads looking for his best friend. 

Louis' voice fades away with the barking, and even though he tries to protest his mind casts him back to when he was fourteen. 

_"Zayn, Duke will be ok. He's probably just running around chasing some birds, you know what he's like when he see's snow" his older sister tries to comfort him, but Zayn's got this feeling in his stomach that wasn't there earlier, when Duke was sitting in his bedroom curled up against the radiator while Zayn tried to finish his extremely difficult chemistry homework._

_He shines his torch along the paths, the light reflecting off of the black ice that coats the pathways, he knows something's happened. He always does. He's got that sort of bond with Duke, the only friend he has. Since Duke was a puppy, originally brought for Doniya's birthday, took an instant shine to Zayn, and vice versa. He stayed with him through Zayn's self-harming, the abuse he'd suffer from the hands of the bullies at school, so Zayn knows when something isn't right with Duke._

_Like that time Duke's stomach twisted, and Zayn knew. He could feel it in his stomach, he kept telling his mom there was something wrong with him and that they should take him to the vets, yet she kept insisting that he was fine and was probably just tired. He knew they should have listened to him when he was rushed into the veterinary surgery and almost passed away on the operating table._

_And Zayn knew now, that something terrible must have happened, because Duke doesn't run off for this long, he's been gone for twenty minutes at the most, and at that time he had walked to Waliyha's school._

_It isn't until he hears the whimpering that he's thrown out of his thoughts, he looks at his sister in horror and her face turns pale, Zayn searches around with his torch until the light falls onto the limp body lying at the side of the road, the big, white eyes looking up at him hopelessly, and somewhere inside of him his heart explodes because his best friend is on the floor and he's bleeding and he can't take it._

_He screams and runs over to Duke, his feet flying about on the sheets of ice beneath them, but it doesn't stop him from reaching his companion, he takes his soft, fury face between his hands and kisses his soft fur repeatedly, crying and whimpering, telling him 'hold on Dukey, everything's going to be ok, you're going to make it"_

_Doniya's crying into her phone, calling for the car while Zayn cries into Dukes fur, incoherent words falling from his mouth. Zayn's mom rushes to them in the car, probably a little too recklessly with the conditions under the wheels, but she gets there safely none the less and she helps Doniya and Zayn carry Duke's limp body into the car. Zayn lays him across his legs, and Duke's head snuggles into his chest and he whimpers. Zayn's fingers caress his face carefully, holding onto him for dear life with the other hand._

_They make it to vets and Duke is rushed straight into emergency theater, and Zayn, Doniya and Trisha, Zayn's mom sit in the empty waiting room, the only sounds being Zayn's constant crying and the whirring of a heater in the corner of the room._

_Soon enough, Zayn falls alseep stretched out across the chairs, and is only woken up when he hears the sound of someones footsteps coming towards him. He bolts upright and looks at the vet in the blue overalls with a sad look in her eyes and he knows, he knows that Duke has gone._

_"I'm sorry to inform you, but Duke didn't make it. I'm terribly sorry" And in that moment, Zayn's whole world comes crashing down around him, and he swears he'll never let anything so precious be taken away from him ever again._

"Zayn... Are you listening to me?" Louis asks softly, and Zayn shakes away his thoughts and the tears that threaten to spill. 

"Oh, yeah, sorry" he says apologetically an gives Lou a small smile. Louis pats him on the shoulder and leads Zayn down to the end cage, inside is a small, German Shepherd puppy tearing his way through some food in a large silver bowl. 

He's probably the cutest thing Zayn's ever seen, and Zayn's already got a name in his head, Zeus. Because somehow that was the only name that he could think of when he saw him. 

"He's adorable" Zayn whispers, and he crouches down to pat his soft fur through the mesh. He instantly crawls closer to Zayn, licking his hand. 

"He likes you" Louis says, kneeling down beside Zayn.

"He's lovely" Zayn says, rubbing at a small patch behind the dogs ear, the dog tilts his head further into Zayn's hand, urging him to carry on. 

"Now seeing as he's a puppy, our rescue center always provides a trainer, a helping hand sort of to get you along the first few weeks. I know you know what you're doing with a dog, but its company policy and I can't get around it no matter how close we are" Louis explains, unlatching the keys from his belt and undoing the lock of the kennel. The dog jumps up onto Zayn immediately, licking his face and Zayn laughs as he looses his balance under the dogs weight, he's a puppy but he's already big. 

"Do I get to name him myself?" Zayn asks Louis, but looking straight into the dogs big brown eyes. 

"Yes, once you have you'll have to fill out some of the paperwork before he can go home with you, but it shouldn't take too long" Louis hands Zayn the lead and a collar and Zayn sets it around the dogs neck attaches it to the lead and follows Louis into the office. 

 

//

 

Zayn sets the bowl of food down for Zeus, his new puppy and throws the empty can into the bin. Cleo is sitting in the door frame, looking at him with wide eyes. Zeus has been great with her so far, he hasn't barked at her or even tried to touch her since he's been here. But she's still a little skeptical as to why all of a sudden there's a dog in her apartment. 

"Alright Cleo, don't look at me like that, I'll do you some now" he mumbles, reaching into the cupboard for the small pouch of cat food and squeezes it into Cleo's pink bowl and then discards the pouch. He leans against the kitchen counter and looks at the two bundles of fur eating from the bowls and wonders why he has both a cat and a dog in his care when he's barely 19 years old. 

Today Louis had arranged for the trainer, who's apparently called Liam, to come over and assess Zayn. To see if he's fit to have Zeus in his care (which Louis knows he is but alas, company policy) and to give him some pointers on the care of the dog. 

When he hears the doorbell sound, he quickly checks around the apartment to make sure he's left nothing embarrassing (i.e the shameless fifty shades of grey book he got from the library just to see what all the fuss was about, and then he brought a guy home, and well, he never called back) 

He answers the door and holy fuck. He's well, he's hot. Like, gorgeous because he has eyes that actually resemble Zeus' and his hair is sort of cropped short and it looks fuzzy and Zayn really just wants to run his hand over it. 

"Erm, I'm Liam. The dog trainer Louis sent?" Liam offers his hand to Zayn and Zayn smiles and shakes it, feeling the smoothness of his skin against Zayn's calloused fingers. 

"Zayn" He stands aside to let Liam into his apartment, and doesn't stop his eyes from travelling down Liam's back, stopping at his perfectly shaped ass, showed off by his tight fitting jeans. 

"Zeus is in the kitchen" Zayn leads Liam into the kitchen where Cleo and Zeus are happily tucking into their breakfast. 

"You have a dog and a cat?" Liam observes, asks, whatever with a raise of his eyebrows. 

Zayn smiles and nods, "Yeah I had my cat, Cleo first. It was another of Louis' set ups, she had fallen out of a tree and had her tail amputated, and nobody wanted a tailless cat, so Louis asked if I'd have her for a while, and then I just never sent her back. Zeus was the same, Louis asked if I'd take him because no one else would. Louis owes me a few favours, if I'm honest" 

Liam kneels down and gently strokes Zeus' back with the palm of his hand, and is pleasantly surprised when he doesn't growl or even flinch at Liam's touch. 

"He's very calm..." Liam observes, looking up at Zayn. Zayn's legs go a little weak, because his eyes are just... wow. 

"Yeah, I suppose" he mumbles. 

"I actually haven't come across a dog whose never reacted to being touched while eating. How long have you had him?" Zayn thinks for a minute before anwering, 

"A week or two maybe?" 

"Has he been calm since you got him?" 

"Sort of?" Zayn offers, "He was a little unsettled to start with. Like, he would sit by the door all night. But then after a few days, he sort of just forgot to do that and started acting like he'd lived here for ages" 

"What did you do about him sitting by the door?" Liam quizzes, and Zayn wonders if he should of mentioned it or not because, what if he's done the wrong thing? He doesn't like the idea of disappointing Liam on his first visit. 

"Nothing, I just waited until he grew out of it" Liam smiles and stands back up. 

"You're experienced with dogs, I can tell. I can see I'm not really going to need to help out with much" And that sort of disappoints Zayn because, he actually wants to spend time with Liam. 

"I had a dog before, when I was younger, but he, er, got run over" Zayn smiles sadly and is shocked by how easily the words left his mouth in front of Liam, it took him three attempts to tell Louis without bursting into tears every time. 

"I lost my dog not long back too, horrible experience" And Zayn nods, even though he's not really listening, just starring at Liam's frame. 

 

//

 

"Thanks for doing this at such short notice, Niall. Louis sort of sprung it upon me last minute and said I couldn't back out" Zayn says as he lets Niall into his apartment. 

"It's no worries Zayn. As long as Zeus and Cleo don't poo everywhere, I'm fine" Niall chuckles and Zayn shows him where everything is and goes through everything, and it sort of occurs to Niall that Zayn is very fond of his two pets and if Niall lets any harm come to them, he would probably decapitate him. 

Louis invited Zayn to some sort of animal convention meeting that required him to wear a suit, he and Harry, Louis' boyfriend had to somehow make Louis actually look sociable and better than he'd make himself look if he went alone. 

After Liam had left the other day, Zayn quickly called Louis up and asked him why he didn't tell him how good looking Liam was because, he wasn't prepared for him. Louis had chuckled and said he didn't realise Zayn was looking for anyone at the moment. 

And guess what? Louis' only gone and invited Liam to this do thing tonight, and to say the least, Zayn is nervous. 

"You've got my number and Louis' number if something goes wrong. And if you can't get in touch, Mrs. Harlow is next door" Niall nods and reassures him, everything will be fine. And Zayn's out of the door, not sure whether he's more nervous about his cat and dog, or that he's going to see Liam again. 

 

//

 

He meets Louis and Harry outside of the (posh) venue, and they go inside together, sitting down at their allocated seats and Zayn is quick to find out that they're going to have to sit and listen to a lot of speeches from people high up in the animal rescue sort of world. He's actually listening though, intently, when he feels a body sit down beside him, and he turns, to come face to face with the puppy eyes guy himself, Liam. 

"Hey" Liam whispers into his ear, and Zayn cracks a smile. 

"Hey" He replies. 

And maybe Zayn is a little pleased that they're sitting so closely together, because maybe he's just a little bit smitten with him already. 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so sorry this is not really relationship based -.- its part of my new series based on the album designed to be by fans of faye. feedback please?


End file.
